SAN MIG COFFEE, MERALCO CLASH FOR TOP 6 SPOT
San Mig Coffee and Meralco both chase a spot in the Top Six as they meet in a rematch late in the elimination round of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay Saturday.
The Mixers beat the Bolts, 76-71, in their previous match, and enjoy a half-game lead going into their second meeting in the 7:30 mainer of a rare Saturday twinbill.
San Mig Coffee, at 7-6, and Meralco, at 6-6, share a similar goal of securing a spot in the best-of-three quarterfinals.
“We feel as a group that we’re starting to come on a bit and at what could be the right time,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone.
“We’re hoping that (Marc) Pingris’ injury won’t derail us although it seems that James (Yap) has turned the corner on his flu and is ready to do. In any case, we need to continue stepping up our game and get to that Top Six position,” Cone added.
“After analyzing the PBA quotient system, we are actually in the quarterfinals. Worst case is No. 7, but we still would like to keep on winning to get a slot in the 3 to 6 for the best-of-three quarterfinals pairing,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio.
“We feel bad that we lost a squeaker against Ginebra but the way we fought back speaks highly on the kind of competitive spirit we have in our team,” Gregorio also said.
Both feel good about their chances against one another.
Cone insists Yap looks to be back in shape.
Playing with a bad flu, the two-time MVP awardee ended up scoreless in their 80-66 win over Air21 Wednesday. It was only the second time in nine years that Yap failed to score a single basket in a game.
Gregorio said their challenge is to defend Denzel Bowles, stifle Yap and PJ Simon and limit the hustle plays of Pingris.
“If we address these areas, then we will have a chance against San Mig Coffee,” said Gregorio.
“We like our progress. We are competing and actually winning against tough opponents. Tiny details must be addressed to maximize our chance of winning against the defending champs,” he added. (SB)
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